


Late Nights

by MrDracoPotter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Anniversary, Drabble, Drabble Series, Drarry, F/M, Five Year Anniversary, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Late Nights, M/M, Short, auror!Harry, domestic!draco, fight, shop owner!draco, workoholic!harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 07:32:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12206691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrDracoPotter/pseuds/MrDracoPotter
Summary: Series of Drabbles that I wrote on Tumblr. Draco plans to celebrate his and Harry's five year anniversary, but Harry doesn't come home.





	Late Nights

**Part One**

6:02 p.m: Draco starts dinner. When he called Harry during his lunch break, he told him that he'd be home by 7. Harry worked really late nights (sometimes he even slept at his office), but Draco was adamant that Harry be on time tonight. Before then, Draco needed to make sure everything was ready and perfect.

6:26 p.m: He starts to set the table, making sure there is candles and flowers. Tonight was going to be special. It was their five year anniversary after all.

6:59 p.m: Draco pulls all the food out of the oven and places it on the table. He made Harry's favorite: steak and kidney pie. Of course, there's also treacle tart for dessert. Before Harry gets home, he settles everything down perfectly.

7:04 p.m: As he's waiting for Harry to walk in at any moment, he fidgets and looks everything over at least a hundred times. Constantly casting tempus charms to see the time, he strains his ears for the tell tale signs of the floo roaring to life.

7:18 p.m: As time ticks by, Draco starts to have intrusive thoughts.  _What if Harry isn't coming home? What if he forgot about their anniversary? What if he's out drinking with Ron and his other mates? What if..._

7:45 p.m: He contemplates firecalling Harry. In the end, he decides against it. Harry wouldn't forget. He said he'd be home, so he would be.

8:21 p.m: Draco casts a heating charm over the food and then a stasis charm. Harry would be home any minute now...

9:13 p.m: His stomach growls, but he can't eat. It's their anniversary and he should wait for Harry to come home. It would just be a little longer.

9:56 p.m: A yawn escapes his mouth. He blames the early hours of his job. They always made him want to go bed early. Harry teased him mercilessly for it. Harry...

10:54 p.m: Draco blows out the candles on the table. The candles were melting done and he didn't want them to be completely disfigured when Harry came home.

11:39 p.m: They still had twenty-one minutes to celebrate their anniversary. It wasn't over yet. Harry will come home.  _He will._

11:59 p.m: One more minute. Surely, Harry wouldn't miss it, right? No, he'd come bursting in the room ready to celebrate. Draco was sure of it. Harry wouldn't miss it. it was so important to the both of them. Draco began to count down the seconds. 30 seconds...he held his breath... 20 seconds... he sat up straight and stared at the door... 15 seconds... he gingerly took his napkin off his lap and placed it on the table... 10 seconds... Harry should be coming right about now... 5 seconds... 4... 3... 2... 1...

12:00 a.m: Harry hadn't come home. Draco bit his lip and took a shaky breath. When tears threatened to spill, he shut his eyes tight and closed his hands into tight fists.

12:02 a.m; He pushed his chair back and stood up slowly. Every move was precise, even though he was upset. After taking one last look at what would've been a great dinner, he walked out of the dining room.He made his way up the stairs mechanically. When he entered his room,  _their_  room, he closed and locked the door with the strongest charm he knew.

12:32 a.m: After staring at the ceiling from the bed for nearly thirty minutes, he finally closed his eyes. However, sleep did not come. Instead his eyes filled with tears that streaked down his face even though he clenched them shut to stop the flow.

1:12 a.m: Finally, he falls asleep, one thought on his mind.  _How could Harry do this?_

 

**Part Two**

6:44 p.m: Harry is wrapping up his report for his last case. He should be finished soon so he can go home to Draco like he said he would. It had been a long time since they had a quiet night to themselves.

7:03 p.m: He finished the last sentence of the report. Slowly, he stood and cracked his back. A lot of hours were spent at his desk today. He was thankful that the end was near and soon he'd be in the arms of Draco.

7:10 p.m: As he walked down the hallway so he can turn the report in, he sees Hermione.

7:12 p.m: When he approached her, he saw that she was a wreck. There was tear tracks down her cheeks and her whole body was shaking. When he asked her what was wrong, she tried to speak but couldn't. Instead she shook her head and a sob escaped her. Harry moved in to hug her and she cried into his shoulder.

7:45 p.m: They were both sitting in his office. The couch they were sitting on was meant to comfort victims and their families. But for now, it helped to comfort the broken girl beside him. She still hadn't explained what had happened. All she could do was cry and stare blankly at the wall. Harry was there for her. He tried to avoid looking at the clock. He knew he had to get home, but he could't leave Hermione. Not like that.

8:37 p.m: Hermione started to explain what happened. Harry finds out that her and Ron are getting a divorce. Apparently, Hermione had started to have a "little stupid useless crush" on someone else and Ron threw it out of proportion. He had called her some nasty words that Hermione didn't feel like repeating.

9:10 p.m: Harry tried to comfort Hermione. She doesn't know what she's supposed to do now. There's no where for her to stay. Harry says he'll talk to Draco about letting her stay with them for a while. _Draco..._

10:21 p.m: As she's talking, Hermione yawned. He suggested that she needs to stay with someone for tonight, but she doesn't know who. He firecalled Seamus and Dean. When they came into the living room to answer in just their pajama pants, Harry hoped he didn't interrupt anything. When he asked if Hermione could stay with them, they were more than willing to help out.

10:32 p.m: After final goodbyes and thank-yous, Hermione flooed to their flat. Quickly, Harry checked the time and moved to floo. Before he could leave, however, a knock sounded at his office door. Checking the time, Harry knew it could only be one person. Sure enough, when he opened the door, a familiar red head was standing there.

10:43 p.m: After greetings, Ron started to talk. At first, it was about work and friends. But soon, the conversation shifted to Hermione. Harry could tell there was a lot of anger behind his words. After a quick sniff, it was easy to know that Ron was about one beer away from being completely pissed.

11:02 p.m: Harry checked the clock on his wall and anxiously suggested that Ron should get home. When Ron said he'd apparate, Harry argued against it. He offered to help Ron floo home. Ron agreed.

11:11 p.m: Usually people make wishes at this time, but not Harry. No, he was dragging a drunk Ron out of the floo and onto the couch of his and Hermione's flat. _I guess it's not Ron and Hermione's flat anymore,_  Harry thought to himself.

11:38 p.m: Ron truly was helpless when drunk. Harry somehow got him into bed. Making sure there was a glass of water and hangover potion on the night stand, he turned to leave. Before he could, Ron called after him. He asked Harry if he thought Hermione would ever cheat on him. Harry told him that Hermione was a better person than that. Ron finally fell asleep.

11:42 p.m: Just as Harry grabbed floo powder from the jar on the mantle, he heard a scream coming from Ron's bedroom. With one wistful look at the clock, he quickly made his way back to Ron's side.

12:06 a.m: Harry finally got Ron to calm down and go back to bed. Since the war, all of them have had nightmares. Ron's had calmed down, but whenever he drank or was really upset, they made a reappearance. Tonight he was both of those things.

12:11 a.m: Harry was finally back at the fireplace. He rubbed his hand over his face and then moved it to his pocket. His pocket was empty. After a brief moment of panic, he remembered he left it at the office. After a deep sigh of agitation, he grabbed some floo powder and went back to the office once again.

12:29 a.m: After arriving and rummaging through some drawers, he finally found what he was looking for. With relief, he returned it to his pocket. Now, he could go home. Thinking of Draco brought a smile to his face. Today was one of those days where he really just needed to hold him in his arms.

12:31 a.m: As he held his arm over the fireplace to drop the powder in, he heard a tap of a beak on his door. He clenched his jaw and moved to open the door for the owl. It was a letter from Pansy, surprisingly enough. They talked, but only because her and Draco were close. Since they all joined the same circle of friends, she was closer to Hermione and Neville (especially considering that he was dating Blaise) than him. She had never written a letter to him, let alone this late at night.

12:43 a.m: He fed the owl a treat from a jar on his desk. After telling it he would send a response later, it flew out of his office. He considered reading and writing a response now, but he needed to get home to Draco. If he didn't he might just explode.

12:47 a.m: He was about to step into green flames when another tapping came from behind him. This time when he turned, he recognized Seamus' owl. After he took the letter from its beak, it flew away, not expecting a response. He tore into the envelope and read it swiftly. In Dean's neat handwriting, it told him that Hermione was okay and she was asleep. A wave of relief washed over him. Hopefully, everything would be alright soon.

12:58 a.m: Finally, with no interruptions, Harry was able to floo home. As he stepped out, the familiar scent of his home and the thought of Draco made a smile grow on his face. Now, he all he needed to do was find Draco. 

 

**Part Three**

After a moment, Harry walked through the living room and into the kitchen. He figured he should find a snack before going to bed. When he saw the dinner table, he stopped. Seeing the dinner Draco had made and the way the table was set, Harry inhaled a sharp breath.

Draco had made dinner; a romantic dinner. He had expected Harry to come home. Harry told him he'd be home.  _This was going to be bad,_ he thought to himself.

Abandoning the idea of a late night snack, he made a detour to their bedroom. When he got to the door, he found it locked. Heartlessly, he tried Alohomora along with a few other unlocking spells he learned in auror training. To no surprise, none of them worked. He knew Draco wouldn't make it too easy.

Making sure to be gentle, he knocked and asked, "Draco?" Silence. He knocked again and said, slightly louder, "Draco."

"Not now," Harry heard from the other side of the door. Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Come on, Draco. I'm sorry," Harry pleaded. "It was-"

"Go away," Draco interrupted. 

"Draco-" Harry started, but was cut off once more.

"Go away," Draco repeated more forcefully. Harry ran an agitated hand through his hair. He took a few steps backwards and tried to calm his breathing. 

"We should talk about this," Harry finally said. Suddenly, he heard foot steps from inside the room.  _Success!_  The door was yanked open by a glaring Draco. Immediately, Harry felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Draco's clothes were ruffled and his eyes were red from crying. However, there was still a storm of anger showing in his eyes that made Harry take a step back.

" _Talk_? You're bloody ridiculous. I can deal with you working twenty or so hours every day for the whole year, but today? You couldn't come home just one day?" Draco spit out. His hands were flying as he talked, making him look completely hostile. As he talked, Harry grew more confused. Later, he grew to regret his next words.

"What's so special about today?" he asked. A murderous look came over Draco's face. His mouth dropped open, before closing again and forming a thin line. Harry was sure he'd drop dead just from his glare. 

"Please tell me you're joking," Draco said. The words came out calm and steady, despite his urge to strangle the man in front of him. At Harry's complexed expression, he turned around and went back in the room. The door was still wide open, so Harry followed. 

"Of course I know what today is," Harry tried to salvage himself from the ship wreck he caused. Draco turned a sharp gaze to Harry. "It's, er... a bir-?" He stopped at Draco's scoff. Then, Draco took a trunk out from their closet and Harry's blood ran cold. 

"What are you doing?" Harry asked incredulously. Draco ignored him as he started to pull clothes off their hangers and into the case. "Draco," he said. Draco turned on him with a clenched jaw and a hard stare. 

"Five years ago," Draco grit out. "I had to force you out of my coffee shop for the third time that week because you wouldn't leave until I closed. It was raining and I was locking the door. That's when you ask me for dinner. And when I looked at you..." Draco's voice had lost its anger and by the end of his tirade,he was whispering. 

"...I kissed you," Harry finished, finally cottoning on to the situation at hand. For a moment, they just looked at each other. In Draco's face, Harry could see how hurt he was. He was sure Draco could see the regret in his eyes. Then, Draco turned back and continued to pile clothes in the trunk. 

"I have a good excuse," Harry tried a new angle. 

"Hmm?" Draco asked. He was tired of fighting. Especially when he was the only one who seemed to care. 

"It was Hermione and Ron - they're getting a divorce. Hermione was upset and Ron was drunk and-" Harry tried to explain. 

"-so you put their relationship before ours," Draco finished. There was no venom in his voice; just, oddly enough, acceptance. Harry stopped for a second before continuing. 

"It wasn't like that," Harry said. He knew he was fighting a losing battle. 

"I'm going to stay with Mother," Draco said as he closed the trunk and secured it with a lock. Harry knew he needed to do something now. Anything to get Draco to stay.

"No, don't-" Harry began, but Draco held a hand up. With a shake of his head, Harry knew there was nothing he could do. 

"I need some time alone," he said. With that, Draco grabbed the trunk and apparated with a _crack_. Harry stood, staring at the place Draco was standing moments before. 

He really messed up this time. 

 

**Part Four**

The next day, Draco went to work as normal. Merlin knew he couldn't stay at the manor with his mother fussing over him all day. It was all in vain, however; Blaise was on him the second he walked into his shop. Blaise always had the ability to see when something was wrong.

"What did Potter do this time?" he asked.Draco shook his head. Blaise stared at him with narrowed eyes and then said, "Okay." Then, he went to walk out of the shop. 

"What are you doing?" Draco asked. 

"To find Potter so I can punch him in the nose," Blaise said matter-of-factly. Draco reached his hand out to grab his arm and pull him back. 

"Blaise, you can't just punch people in the face to solve every problem," Draco admonished. Blaise stopped fighting Draco's grasp and gave him a hard stare.

"You were so excited yesterday for your anniversary. It was the first time I've seen you truly happy in a long time, Draco. I know how hard it is for you - being in a relationship with someone who works so much. Yesterday, I thought maybe things would turn around for you. Apparently, the opposite has happened," Blaise explained. 

Draco stared at his feet and replied, "I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. You're right, it's been bad for a long time now." With that, he turned to make his way behind the register. The shop was opening soon.

Blaise's eyes were on him, but he ignored him by re-stacking the cups on the counter. When he was finished, he could still feel Blaise's stare on him. He un-stacked and re-stacked the cups again. After doing this three more times, he chanced a peek up. Blaise was no longer staring at him, but outside instead.

"Er-" he started, but before he could finish, the door to the shop burst open. Harry stood there in the doorway. Draco sighed as Harry looked at him with an intense look in his eyes. 

"Can we talk?" he asked. Despite knowing that he should say no, Draco found himself nodding in agreement. He walked out from behind the counter and into his office, silently urging Harry to follow. When Harry entered the tiny space, Draco closed the door and casted a silencing charm. 

"I'm  _working_ ," Draco grumbled. "What do you want?" 

"You," Harry professed. Draco had vowed to keep a strong resolve, but Harry was making it a challenge with his seemingly honest words and fierce stare. Those green eyes seemed to tell Draco everything he wanted to hear. But it was just fantasy. When you want something desperately enough, you see it everywhere, but it's not there. It was a mirage in a desert. 

With that thought in mind, Draco took a sharp inhale and said, "I can't do this, Harry." His voice cracked at the end, but he took a few calming breaths. Now wasn't the time to break down. He needed to be resolute.

"I'm sorry. About everything. I've been a terrible boyfriend to you, I know. You did not deserve to be treated that way. I've been working to much and that'snot fair to you," Harry admitted. As he was talking, he took a few steps forward so him and Draco were less than a foot away from each other. Draco was determinedly looking away at the wall. If he looked at Harry, he knew he would break. 

"I don't know if an apology would do much good, right now," Draco divulged. Harry nodded.

When Draco didn't say anything else, Harry continued, "I know this can't fix everything. From now on, I'll spend every day trying to fix this. For now, however, you should know that I quit my job," Harry confessed. Finally, Draco looked up and stared at Harry with wide eyes.

"You... what?" he asked incredulously. A look of hope came over Harry's face.

"After last night, I thought I'd go to work to get it out of my head. When I got there, I realized I didn't want to get it out of my head. I wanted to make it better. You are more important than any job I could ever have," Harry confessed. He brought his hand up to slide Draco's hair behind his ear. "I love you." Draco stared at him for a moment.

"You- I can't believe you did that," Draco whispered. His resolve was slipping away, but he knew he couldn't let Harry get away with everything so easily. "You put another relationship before ours," he protested, halfheartedly pushing Harry away.

"I know; I'm so sorry," Harry said in a pained voice. 

"You forgot our anniversary," Draco said with a broken voice. Harry's face fell as he took in Draco's pained expression. 

"Yeah, I did. That was unforgivable. There's nothing I can say to explain that. All I can say is that I won't do it again. And I promise I'll never forget our wedding anniversary," Harry murmured. At Draco's confused expression, Harry got down on one knee. He reached into his jacket coat to bring out a small box. When he opened it, a sleek gold band was revealed. 

"Wha-" Draco started but stopped at Harry's passionate stare. 

"I know that I've messed up more times than I can count, but I want the opportunity to make it up to you every day for the rest of my life. Draco Lucius Malfoy, will you marry me?"

 

**Part Five**

_Five years later..._

Draco was stirring a pot on the stove when hands wrapped around him from behind. Instantly, a smile lit up his face. He continued to tend to the food until he was turned around to face his snuggler.

"Happy anniversary," Harry mumbled before connecting their lips in a short, but sweet, kiss. 

"You remembered. It's a miracle," Draco replied. Harry scrunched up his nose. 

"I told you I'd never forget again. Especially with everything that has happened on this day through the years. Let's take a trip down memory lane, yeah?" Harry suggested. Draco nodded, urging Harry to continue.

"Well, ten years ago we had a very first kiss. That was the day that I realized you were it for me, you know. There was no way I could find someone as great as you. Then, five years ago, I was an incredible prick. However, you forgave me and let me pick a ring on your left finger. I will forever be grateful for that. Four years ago, we shared vows and I promised to make you the happiest man alive for the rest of our lives." At this point, Draco and Harry shared a deep kiss. Finally Harry broke off to add, "And two years ago, we got the call that gave us the whole world, and then some. Lily and Scorpius. From that point on, we decided to make a world for them that we never had. If I'm being honest, I would say we're doing a great job of it, too." 

Draco wrapped his arms tighter around his husband and laid his head in the crook of his neck. Wandlessly and silently, the radio came on to play a slow song. They didn't know what it was, but they still swayed slightly to the tune.

"I need to finish dinner," Draco murmured. Harry hummed and let Draco go. Draco turned back to the stove. Harry walked to the cupboards to set the table. 

"Ron and Viktor really didn't mind? Watching the kids?" Draco asked with a hint of worry.

Harry chuckled and said, "It was their idea in the first place. We haven't had a night to ourselves in so long, Draco. They were practically begging to watch them for us." Draco worried his lip.

"Is it bad that I miss them? After only an hour?" he asked. Harry came up from behind him once more and hugged him, plates in his hands and all. 

"I miss them too. It's strange to not have them around, but this will be good for us. We haven't had time for us in nearly two years," Harry said. He trailed kisses down Draco's neck and Draco sighed. 

"You're right. We need a break," Draco breathed. Harry left one final kiss before detaching himself to finish placing the dishes on the table. 

When the food was finished and they brought an end to a  _very_  long dry spell, they laid together on their shared bed. Draco filled with warmth as he remembered that this was all _his_. He wouldn't pick any other way to spend the rest of his life.

"I love you," he whispered. 

"I love you more," Harry responded, sounding sleepy. With that, they slept with the promise of forever.

**Author's Note:**

> I hoped you enjoyed it! It wasn't beta'd, so I'm sorry about any mistakes. Follow my tumblr: harryanddracoarehusbands for more. Check out my other works: What If I Told You (completed but un-beta'd), Goodbye (completed), and Declarations (in progress) 
> 
> Also, look out for my October Drarry fest, where I'll be posting a drabble every day for the month of October.


End file.
